By Anthony Benbow
PERTH — The WA union movement's campaign against the "third wave" moved up another gear over the last two weeks with coordinated industrial action across public and private sectors. The "third wave" bill — designed to make collective action in defence of jobs, conditions and community services illegal — passed through parliament's lower house and was then introduced into the Legislative Council.
In last year's election, the government lost its majority in the upper house, but the newly elected members don't take their seats until May 22.
The actions followed 24-hour strikes called by many unions on April 29, when more than 25,000 workers and supporters marched on parliament.
Power unions led the charge, with the three unions that cover power station workers limiting supplies to industry for nearly a week. The day after they returned to work, transport workers voted to stop deliveries of fuel for five days.
Following this, milk process workers and tanker drivers stopped for three days. Manufacturing workers struck for 24 hours on May 13, and plumbing and electrical workers walked off the job on May 15, in some sectors for 48 hours.
Ongoing stoppages are happening in the building and construction industry. Health workers and teachers have work bans in place, and unions will be targeting the waterfront for action from May 18 onwards. State public sector workers held a mass meeting and rally on May 14.
The workers' embassy outside parliament was re-established after police closed it down on April 30, and has been staffed 24 hours a day. Construction and manufacturing unions built a barbecue and pergola, and laid down brick paving, a garden and sandpit for children, and a wall of sandbags between the embassy and parliament.
Following the government's announcement that it would guillotine debate and put the bill straight to a vote on May 15, union action intensified. On May 14, a team of 60 unionists entered the public gallery of parliament and camped there day and night for two days.
That afternoon, Parliament House staff walked off the job for 24 hours and put picket lines on all entrances. Later that evening, power was cut to the entire building, stopping debate for half an hour.
At 7:30am on May 15, more than 600 members of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union held a mass meeting at the steps of parliament, voting to strike for 48 hours and to relieve the CPSU on the picket lines.
Parliamentarians turned up to find all entrances blocked. Clive Griffiths, Liberal president of the Legislative Council, was reportedly close to tears as unionists barred his way.
Police assisted parliamentarians into the house, where they faced more problems: vocal protest from the team in the public gallery made debate next to impossible. In desperation, Griffiths adjourned the sitting to a room elsewhere in the building.
A growing crowd of unionists then continued the protest outside. Whistles and sirens mixed with chants of "Kill the bill" and "We're angry, we're loud, we're union and we're proud".
The crowd grew close to a thousand as 5pm approached, when the bill was to be rammed through. Striking truck drivers parked their prime movers to block the road, the air horns adding to the crescendo. After the vote, coalition members had to be escorted from the house by police.
The solidarity and camaraderie among unions at the embassy and the parliament protests have been tremendous, and continue to grow. On May 16, hundreds gathered at the embassy for a "Workers' Ball", with a dress code of "black tie and work boots".
Premier Richard Court would like to believe that the bill's passage delivers victory to the government. However, the union movement's position is: "The government can pass legislation, but then they have to make it work". Ensuring it won't work, by using industrial action and civil disobedience, is the union movement's focus for future action.